If my Spanish is impeccable, I have mastered Quechua (an Indian dialect in Ecuador and Peru), and I am familiar with the local dialects but do not have love... I am a confusing irritation to those whom I am trying to reach.
If I can interpret truth and always know the "why" behind the "what," able to explain and expound; and if I have heard from the Lord and steadfastly believe all that He has promised, clinging unwaveringly to the vision, knowing He will remove the greatest obstacles, but do not give Christ to others... I am nothing.
If I give everything I have and am, hold nothing for myself, possess nothing, and offer my health, wealth, abilities, time, and life to the furtherance of the Cause, but fail to be the heart of Jesus... my labor is vain.
Love remains loyal though it has been rejected many times; love sees true needs and seeks to meet them even when it must remove self; love speaks to edify, lives to give, and breathes to praise but never promotes, identifies, or raises itself.
Love must be demonstrated in proportion to God's love - it must make decisions, set boundaries, say "no," and be aware of who is watching. Love doesn't pursue its own advancement and never acts in revenge or out of irritation; love forgets atrocities committed against it, and tenaciously clings to purity and truth; it withstands every stress, sees always the possibility for good, and never ceases to look toward the finish line and the One waiting there.
Love is not hindered by setbacks, failures, discouragements, or nay-sayers...
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